Radioactive Leak Reported At Japan Nuke Plant

Radioactive Leak Reported At Japan Nuke Plant

www.cnn.com

Water containing radioactive material leaked at a Japanese nuclear power plant following Monday's earthquake, Kyodo News agency reported.
The quake, which left fissures 3 feet wide in the ground along the coast, hit shortly after 10 a.m. local time and was centered off Niigata state. Buildings swayed 160 miles away in Tokyo. Sirens wailed in Kashiwazaki, a city of about 90,000, which appeared to be hardest hit.

(visit the link for the full news article)

How does this affect the area? Radioactive water... if it seeps into the ground, local water supplies etc?

www.cnn.com
(visit the link for the full news article)

the good news is that the article said there was only a half of a gallon that leaked and there was no significant change in the sea water and that it is under surveillance

Such a low amount should just disperse into the water and I don't think it's anything to worry about.

The water will be radioactive, but not in quantities that's lethal. Makes me wonder how earthquake proof these facilities are. Surely they should be the toughest buildings on the planet, this leak should be looked into further.

CNN is now reporting that about 315 gallons of water leaked.

What does that do to the area around it?

Well I imagine that can't be good.

But is this just CNN and their typical 'blow everything out of proportion' thing they seem to like so much?

Someone else can probably come along and explain what will happen, but I think this is serious enough.

Radioactive leaks, regardless of the isotope or the quantity leaked, is bad news for the industry as a whole even if it was a gallon of water laced with a drop or two of tritiated heavy water.

The public is well aware of Chernobyl and the impact that had on a global scale. While the circumstances involved in that case of human error is exponentially far greater than the leak in this story, it is notable that the public concern is on a par with the loss of life and property as a result of the quake.

I have always felt that the location of nuclear generators is of utmost importance when considering earthquake-prone areas. While I understand that no location on the planet is completely free from the risk, I also know that certain areas are more so... like Japan as it sits on the 'Ring of Fire'.

Boy oh boy...

Nice timing, since they just recently had an upgraged class 4 typhoon that hit their southern coastline not too long ago.

Japan's sitting pretty much in the 'circle of fire' area in the pacific, and with typhoons, possible earthquakes, throw in a few eruptions here and there...lovely little recipe for catastrophe.

Chernobyl won't have anything on these guys if and when something gives.

"Nice to place to visit...wouldn't want to live there."

This is very timely, I was labelled 'ignorant' for suggesting that we are all vulnerable to nuclear technology. Whether that is human error, Mother Nature or the technology itself.

This just confirms my fears.

Originally posted by masqua
Radioactive leaks, regardless of the isotope or the quantity leaked, is bad news for the industry as a whole even if it was a gallon of water laced with a drop or two of tritiated heavy water.

I was so hoping you were going to weigh in on this one. If anyone doesn't know, Masqua is very, very well versed in the area of Nuclear Power and Nuclear Plants, so when he speaks we all should listen very carefully.

Masqua just remember not to hit us with to much Nuclear Jargon or you'll lose us after Listen Carefully.

I'll try, Realtruth... and thanks for the compliment. A lifelong career in the industry does give me a certain perspective.

Now, check this out...

Japan’s nuclear industry was plunged into in crisis today following the “discovery” that the world’s largest atomic power station at Kashiwazaki stands directly above a huge earthquake fault-line.

The revelations deal a massive credibility blow to the Tokyo High court and to the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology – the government-affiliated body whose survey showed the fault to be some 15 kilometres from the Kashiwazaki plant.

In 2005, fearing the effects of a major quake a group of residents fought to have Kashiwazaki’s licence to build a new reactor revoked. The Tokyo High court rejected the plaintiffs' claim that an active fault ran under the station, concluding that what the residents thought was an active fault “did not even amount to a fault and could not cause a quake”.

Times link

Now that's just nasty. How can it be that authorities fudged the facts to enable the building of a facility?

Such inefficiency is beyond belief. I'd hate to think a third of Japans other 55 stations could be taken out of service over this, but if the same arrogance and blatant disregard for their safe operation is impacted... well...